Hand held scrubboard



Patented Mar. 6, 1 951 UNITED STATE-"S PAT Q-F F I'CE 2544366 HAND *HEED soItUBBoAR'Ii 'i' iiis'niwseliis, serenade; Application October 15, 19427", sen-51 n oi i lllll ljil 1 Claim.

The subject of this invention-is ntenn e washboard for washing glo ve's'fjafid euiersmni articles, "a nd in the-fo r firf elongate block and of "about the average-size of the handofia woman, say about 3%" long, by 2 A""wide', ;and 1; of "a thickness, say about 1 for being fitted to the handand then so as'tobe securely yet "comfortably held by means-of special' contourings on one side of the deyic e.

The device of the invention is a one-piece structure, and one readily moldable or otherwise such as a plastic.

The side of said structure, opposite to the side thereof on which said special contourings are placed, which latter side will below be called the handle side, provides a wash-work surface which may be laterally ridged or otherwise shaped to constitute a scrubbing means.

The handle side of the miniature washboard is preferably marginally inclusive of a surrounding wall surface, laterally curvilinearly convex, and variously taperingly extended toward the wash-work side of the device.

The handle side of the device is further shaped to present a palm-rest, this a substantially fiat surface for fitting against the palm of the hand and against the palm adjacent portions of all the four fingers of the hand, and also to present near one end of the device properly placed troughlike stalls one for each of said four fingers and an additional cavity so arranged that the thumb may be adjusted therein for most comfortable placement.

The stalls diverge away from the palm-rest at such angles of divergence that the four fingers of the hand are given that medium spread naturally assumed in grasping and comfortably holding the miniature washboard to dispose the latter firmly against the palm. These stalls, further, are curvilinearly extended toward the washwork side of the device, interruptingly of an end portion of said surrounding wall surface. The thumb cavity is well toward a side of the device, and it also is curvilinearly extended toward the wash-work side of the device.

The device is so formed that nowhere on the same, except at the wash-work side thereof, is there a well-like depression to act as a waterpocketing recess; with the result that said device in any position thereof is self-draining.

For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects and advantages thereof, reference will be had to the following description and accompanying drawing, and to the appended "shapablefiom a suitable-light weight material,

claim in which the various z'novel 'featuresof the invention :are :more.:-particularly set forth.

as now favored-,'=looking down on'the hand-leside thereof.

. Fig. 2 is a similar-view,but. showing the wash- *work -side.

. Fig. 3 is a-sideelevation, looking toward the ight in-Fig. 1.

W Fig;. 4 -;is a a similar a view, looking towardthe left in Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing more in detail, the miniature washboard illustrated, marked as a whole I 0, is shown as an elongate one-piece block-like structure having straight side edges and rounded end edges.

The wash-work side [2 is shown as carrying a scrubbing means comprised of a multiplicity of laterally extending ridges I 4, each pair of such ridges provided by the long side edges of one of a plurality of straight grooves I4 extended laterally of the device. Aside from these grooves, the wash-work side I2 is substantially uniplanar.

The device is formed to include, rising from its wash-work side I2, a laterally curvilinearly tapered surrounding wall I'I.

At It is shown a substantially flat surface constituting the palm-rest; and from the latter, divergingly extended toward the end I9 of the device, are stalls 20, 2|, 22 and 23 for the four fingers. The thumb receiving cavity is shown at 24.

The washboard is constructed to be grasped in the left hand, so that the article to be washed will be held in the right hand and the palmrest I8 is desirably extended at somewhat of an oblique angle to the direction of length of the device, and with the stalls 2U23 correspondingly placed; as shown in Fig. 1.

This arrangement is preferred, as it best facilitates holding the device in the left hand, with security, and with maximum comfort. To give the same advantages to a left handed person,

who would hold the device in the right hand, the new washboard could be offered to a purchaser in two models, one as above described, and the other with a reversely angled disposition of the palm rest 18 and the stalls 2ll23 relative to the length of the device and consequently with transfer of the thumb cavity 24 to the side of the device at the left in Fig. 1.

As already stated, the surrounding wall surface I! is laterally curvilinearly convex and differentially taperingly extended toward the washwork side l2 of the device. Said wall surface I! has a steep taper over the portion thereof interrupted by the stalls 20--23 and as well also adjacent the thumb cavity 24, while the portion of said wall surface opposite that end of the palm-rest [8 which is opposite to the end therefrom from which are extended the stalls 2023, is more gently rounded and according to a much less steep taper, to provide a rest for the heel of the hand.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise construction herein disclosed and the right is reserved to all changes and modifications coming within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

A miniature washboard for being held in one hand during a washing operation, comprising an elongated block-like structure having one face thereof flat, a plurality of transverse ridges formed on said flat face forming a washing surface, a fiat-palm rest on the opposite face of said structure, a plurality of depressions divergingly extended from said palm-rest and shaped to provide stalls each for a different finger, each of said stalls at its end remote from said palmrest terminating at a point adjacent said fiat face of said structure, said stalls being shaped to spill any water which accumulates therein, and a depression extending from said palm-rest and forming a thumb cavity, said thumb cavity at its and remote from said palm-rest terminating at a point adjacent said fiat face of said structure and being shaped to spill any water which accumulates therein, said structure having a surrounding wall which is laterally curvilinearly extended inward from the periphery of said flat face and smoothly merged with said palm-rest, said palm-rest being substantially uni-planar and in its direction of extension away from said stalls being at an oblique angle to the direction of the length of said structure.

PRUE E. WEEMS.

REFERENCES crrnn The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 112,235 Foster Feb. 28, 1871 2,271,512 Grifiiths Feb. 3, 1942 2,310,945 Eisenberg Feb. 16, 1943 2,441,268 Haber May 11, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 383,394 Great Britain Nov. 17, 1932 

